U.S. travelers still flocking to Mexico despite State Department warnings The country has seen an increasing amount of violence over the past yearThe country has seen an increasing amount of violence over the past year.

Virgin Atlantic posts loss on FX, engine issuesLONDON--Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. swung to a loss last year after being hit by currency weakness, engine problems on some of its planes, and weather-induced service disruptions. The British long-haul carrier founded by Richard Branson and 49%-owned by Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL, on Thursday said it suffered a 48.5 million-pound ($67.7 million) after-tax loss in 2017 compared with a GBP187.3 million profit a year ago.

U.S. February budget report shows first sign of wider deficits to come $215 billion shortfall as revenue falls and spending risesThe Treasury budget for February shows the first signs of the effects of this year’s tax cuts.

Household debt grows at fastest rate in 11 years Net worth as a percent of disposable income is highest in historyHousehold debt grew in the fourth quarter at the fastest rate since the fourth quarter of 2007, reflecting in large the boom in auto sales after damaging hurricanes.

Dollar edges lower as rivals gain steam, ahead of official tariff announcement Bank of Canada leaves rates unchanged, warns on trade talkThe U.S. dollar turned modestly lower late Wednesday, as foreign exchange investors continued to track developments in trade, including White House remarks that Canada and Mexico could benefit from potential exemptions from tariffs on national security grounds.

AXA to buy insurer XL Group for $15.3 billionPARIS -- French financial giant AXA SA on Monday said it would buy New York-listed insurance company XL Group Ltd. for $15.3 billion, creating one of the world's biggest property and casualty insurers.

Expedia picks AIG to sell travel insurance on siteAmerican International Group Inc. said it has been selected to sell travel insurance to customers of Expedia Inc.'s websites, part of AIG's larger effort to earn more revenue from consumers. Expedia's Brand Expedia Group, one of the world's biggest travel-site operators, said the pact would make AIG's Travel Guard offerings available to people booking flights, hotels, cars, cruises and other travel on its sites.

ISM manufacturing gauge hits 13-year high in February Manufacturing index tops economist forecastsThe Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index rose to 60.8% in February, up from 59.1% in January, to reach the highest level since May 2004.

Overheat? A few say the Powell Fed is chasing after shadows Critics see no data to justify steeper rate pathMost Fed watchers agree that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell opened the door for four rate hikes this year. Only a few think it would be a mistake.

Hiscox pretax profit falls 91% in 2017Hiscox Ltd. (HSX.LN) said Monday that pretax profit fell 91% in 2017 as a historic year of catastrophes led to increased payouts. The insurance company said profit for the year ended Dec. 31 fell to 30.8 million pounds ($43 million) from GBP354.5 million in 2016. The value of gross premiums written in 2017 increased by 6% to GBP2.55 billion, it said.

Swiss Re profit falls; assessing SoftBank alliance(Adds updates throughout.) Swiss Re AG SREN.EB is "carefully assessing" the implications of a deal with SoftBank Group Corp. (9984.TO), the reinsurance giant said on Friday, as it reported that net profit fell sharply to $331 million in 2017, hit by a number of natural catastrophes. "Swiss Re's board of directors is carefully assessing the strategic and financial implications of such a partnership, having in mind the best interests of the company and its

Swiss Re profit hurt by natural catastrophesSwiss Re AG SREN.EB net profit fell significantly in 2017, hurt by a string of natural catastrophes, it said Friday. The Zurich-based reinsurer made a net profit $331 million compared with $3.56 billion in the same period last year. Claims of about $4.7 billion stemming from natural disasters including hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, as well as an earthquake in Mexico and wildfires in California, hurt the insurance company's full-year profit, it said.

Fed’s Dudley says there’s a ‘speculative mania’ in the cryptocurrency market NY Fed President latest to pour cold water on cryptocurrency marketPresident of the New York Fed, William Dudley is the latest high-profile policy maker to warn of the dangers in the cryptocurrency market.

Home Depot sales lifted by tax cuts and booming housing market CEO calls housing a ‘tailwind’ on earnings callThe largest home-improvement retailer reported earnings that beat expectations and same-store sales and revenue that were up solidly from a year ago as the housing recovery stretches on.

Housing starts soar in January, and building permits hit 10½-year high Construction returning to levels last seen before ‘Great Recession’U.S. housing starts jump 9.7% in January and building permits reach a hit 10 1/2-year high, reflecting a vibrant real estate scene that shows no sign of slacking off against the backdrop of the strongest economy in years.

Fannie Mae to turn to taxpayers after $6.5 billion loss A ‘great policy failure’ that the two institutions at the heart of the financial crisis are still in limbo, says one observerThe mortgage finance provider took a big hit from the tax law changes, causing it to have to write down credits it held on its balance sheet, an expected move, but one that serves as a reminder of unfinished business from the financial crisis.

U.S. retail sales slump in January and December’s initial gain was erased Auto dealers, home centers suffer biggest declines in early 2018Sales at U.S. retailers fell by 0.3% in January — the biggest drop in almost a year — largely because of declines at auto dealers and home centers. And a previously reported increase in sales in December was wiped out.

Don’t be scared by weak retail sales and rising inflation Drop in retail sales, inflation spike in January unlikely to lastWall Street got a small fright after a pair of government reports revealed a surge in the cost of living and a decline in retail sales, but a quick look under the hood showed that neither report is as bad as it looks.

Power plant explosion, fire causes new Puerto Rico blackoutAn explosion and fire at a power substation caused a widespread blackout in Puerto Rico on Sunday night, adding to the woes of the island that was battered by two major hurricanes in the fall. Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority said several municipalities, including parts of San Juan, were without power, . The incident occurred at the Monacillos power plant in San Juan, . It was not immediately known what caused the explosion. showed firefighters battling flames at the power plant. The substation reportedly generated about 400 megawatts of electricity. The island's power grid was largely destroyed by Hurricane Maria, and an estimated 400,000 residents are still without power five months later.

Beazley 2017 profit falls after natural disastersInsurance company Beazley PLC (BEZ.LN) said Thursday that pretax profit in 2017 fell 43% as hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires caused heavy claims across the industry. Profit for the year fell to $168 million, from $293.2 million in 2016, while revenue rose 8% to $2.04 billion, Beazley said. The company also said net premiums grew 7% to $1.98 billion, with investment income increasing to $138.3 million from $93.1 million in 2016.

SoftBank in talks to buy up to a third of Swiss ReSoftBank Group Corp. is in talks to buy a stake in reinsurance giant Swiss Re AG that could be worth $10 billion or more, in the latest example of the Japanese conglomerate's soaring ambitions. The deal being discussed calls for the purchase of up to a third of Swiss Re's shares at a premium, according to people familiar with the matter.

European stocks close at 5-month low after Wall Street carnage Stoxx 600 falls for 7th straight sessionEuropean stock markets closed sharply lower and suffered a seventh straight decline on Tuesday, after a historic selloff in the U.S. the prior day sparked a global market rout.

Munich Re posts profit rise, maintains dividendMunich Re AG (MUV2.XE) said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net profit rose slightly and that it won't reduce dividend payments, despite high losses from hurricanes during 2017. Fourth-quarter net profit at the German reinsurer was 530 million euros ($658.9 million) compared with EUR491 million a year earlier.

U.S. productivity dips 0.1% in fourth quarter, ends 2017 on sour note Inflation-adjusted worker compensations falls second year in a rowU.S. productivity fell by 0.1% in the fourth quarter to end 2017 on a disappointing note. Productivity has been weak since the end of the last recession and it’s held the economy back.

Jobless claims fall slightly to 230,000, layoffs extremely low Slim unemployment rolls underscore strong U.S. labor market The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits in late January fell by 1,000 to 230,000, keeping initial U.S. jobless claims near a 45-year low.

Trump Today: President says State of the Union will cover immigration and trade Trump on economy: ‘It’s like a whole different place.’President Donald Trump on Monday outlined what will be in his State of the Union address as he spoke at a ceremony swearing in the new Health and Human Services secretary.

Stock market steams ahead as big tech earnings and Fed come into view Tech giants to offer up earnings, while Fed meets for first time in 2018The stock market is heading into its most exciting, and potentially most volatile, week of the new year as earnings pick up pace and the Federal Reserve convenes its first meeting of 2018.

How hurricanes Harvey, Maria caused auto sales to rise and boost fourth-quarter GDPHurricanes Harvey and Maria caused a lot of damage to the U.S. economy last fall, but the cleanup efforts gave a boost to GDP in the waning months of 2017.

2017 was costliest year on record for weather disasters with $344 billion of global economic losses2017 was the costliest year on record for weather disasters, with $344 billion of global economic losses due to events including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, Typhoon Hato in China and Cyclone Debbie in Australia, according to Aon Benfield's catastrophe model development team. In their Weather, Climate & Catastrophe Insight: 2017 Annual Report, the team found there were 330 natural catastrophe events in 2017, 97% of which were caused by weather-related events. Losses were 93% higher than the 2000 to 2016 average, the report found. Insured losses for the private sector and government-sponsored programs came to $134 billion, just behind the record of $137 billion set in 2011. "While 2017 was an expensive year for the insurance industry, the reinsurance market had an estimated USD600 billion in available capital to withstand the high volume of payouts," said Eric Anderson, CEO of Aon Benfield. "Most critically, the US weather and wildfire events in particular have demonstrated the value of reinsurance, with claims being paid in an average of eight days to augment the recovery process."

Travelers earnings hurt by California wildfiresTravelers Cos. earnings fell in the fourth quarter due to losses from recent wildfires in California. On Tuesday, the insurance firm said its pretax catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance, totaled $499 million during the quarter, compared with the range of $525 million to $675 million it provided in November.

Travelers reports Q4 profit, revenue beats in spite of California wildfiresTravelers Cos. Inc. shares rose 3% in premarket trade Tuesday after the company reported fourth-quarter profit and revenue beats in spite of charges related to devastating wildfires in California. Earnings for the latest quarter declined to $551 million, or $1.98 per share, from $943 million, or $3.28 per share in the year-earlier period. The results include a charge of $129 million related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and net realized investment gains of $70 million pre-tax, compared with $35 million in the year-earlier period, the company said. Travelers said its earnings-per-share also benefited from share buybacks, noting that its investment portfolio and strong balance sheet allowed it to return $549 million to shareholders in the latest quarter, including $351 million in share buybacks. Adjusted earnings-per-share were $2.28, compared with the FactSet consensus of $1.50 per share. Revenue rose to $7.45 billion from $7.19 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $6.30 billion. Travelers said that its catastrophe losses in the fourth-quarter relating to recent wildfires in California totaled $656 million pre-tax, which was partially offset by $157 million pre-tax related to third-quarter hurricanes. Travelers said that this was "a year of extremely high catastrophe losses for the industry," adding that its strong financial results demonstrated "the value of our franchise and our consistent capital management strategy." Travelers shares have risen 3.6% over the last three months, compared with a 10.5% rise in the S&P 500 and a 12.6% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

U.S. housing starts fizzle at end of 2017 Yet permits, home building hit 10-year high despite year-end dragConstruction on new houses in the U.S. fell 8.2% in December, but home builders had their busiest year in 2017 since before the Great Recession.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.